


Coruscant Cotillion

by Vadianna



Series: Pasiphae-verse [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: (and the woman who tries to pick them up), (maybe that's just me), (sort of), Casual Sex, Consensual Mind Control, Falleen, M/M, Smoking, Uniform Kink, Watersports, Xenophilia, third partner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-20 19:59:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11928165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vadianna/pseuds/Vadianna
Summary: Kylo Ren, several months into their relationship, decides to surprise Hux with his own version of the trip they usually take together to the Clubs.  No Club is involved, but it's still an unusual vacation for both of them, as a trip to Coruscant and a ball would be.  And that's even before they meet their partner.The relevant parts ofPasiphae, the main story, are summarized at the beginning, so this can be read as a one-shot.  This one might be a little confusing without the other parts of the story, though.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read _Pasiphae_ , the relevant take-away is that Hux realizes that Kylo Ren is into xenophilia, and showed him clubs where like-minded individuals of all species hook up.
> 
> The sex (and xenophilia) are in the second half. Nothing too wild happens in this first part, so you can skip or stop, depending on your preferences.

“Wait,” Kylo muttered, annoyed, as he followed Hux’s confident stride down the shuttle’s boarding ramp. He grew more upset when Hux stopped at the bottom and turned to him in perfect parade rest, giving him his blank inscrutable look.

Kylo’s eyes darted around the crowded landing platform as he took a few more reluctant steps down the ramp to catch up to Hux. “We can’t just… we can’t just walk around like this, even during Carnival Week.”

One of Hux’s eyebrows went up. “Oh? You’re the one that insisted on this trip.” He pitched his voice in a lower, whinier tone that imitated Kylo’s accent. Badly. “’It’ll be safe,’ you said. ‘It’s Carnival Week, _everyone_  will be in costume. Making fun of Imperials is all they _do_  there.’” Hux turned to look out at the platform.

Kylo followed his gaze. There were a number of people in costume, though fewer were in fake Imperial garb than he had hoped. He hadn’t been to Coruscant since he was very young. The visit he remembered had been during Carnival Week. He didn’t quite understand what it was - as far as he could tell, it had previously been a week-long celebration dedicated to the glory of the Emperor, the Empire, and especially Coruscant. When the Empire had fallen, apparently they hadn’t wanted to give up the holiday, so they still celebrated, but now it was at the expense of the Empire. Everyone dressed in Imperial garb to mock the former glory. Or something. The logic didn’t quite make sense, but Kylo hadn’t bothered to investigate, then or now.

There had still been a handful of wealthy nobility planetside when he was a boy, and his most vivid memory was attending a masquerade where everyone had been dressed as an Imperial officer. He and Leia had stood out in their fake Jedi robes. He had met Mas Amedda at the function. His bright blue skin had been fascinating to young Ben, and it stood out particularly in the white and gold uniform that Amedda had been wearing. The fear that rolled off him while he spoke to Leia was tangible, crawling over Ben’s skin, lingering like a bad taste.

He crushed the memory, glancing back to Hux and crossing his arms. “This would be safer if you had _worn the Imperial uniform_.”

Hux turned back to him, his face a mask, his thoughts guarded and unreadable. Kylo wished he’d guard himself less - he was difficult to read and taciturn even in private, and he relied heavily on the glimpses of his thoughts Hux let slip through his barriers to determine how to act. This trip had been a shot in the dark, an attempt by Kylo to try and give something back to Hux. So far, it was going poorly.

Hux had flat-out refused to wear the Imperial uniform, for reasons he did not share and Kylo could not divine. Hux wasn’t wearing his coat, but was otherwise fully outfitted in his First Order General’s uniform, cap included.  This now seemed suicidal to Kylo, a very likely way to get them both captured and killed, but Hux could not be made to see this.  Kylo wished he could just _make him_ , suggest it with the Force and have him do it for both of their safeties.  He should have.  But he couldn't bring himself to do that to Hux. He'd been so careful about how he used his powers around Hux, and that would ruin it.  He consoled himself with the thought that Hux would die knowing Kylo was right.

Hux continued to regard him blankly as he took a few more steps down the ramp, stopping well above Hux. “I told you, if we’re doing something this stupid, I’m far less likely to be caught for the same reason I am going into the clubs.”

Kylo grit his teeth. “You won’t even wear the mask.”

Hux shook his head once. “Because I want this to be a costume, not a disguise. Let’s not do this again.” He turned to look back at the spaceport, then the Coruscant skyline.

Kylo had kept their destination a secret until they were underway, and had bought Imperial uniforms for the occasion. Hux had nearly turned them around when he learned what Kylo had in mind (or part of it - Kylo was still holding back the reason for the trip, though that was probably obvious). It had been the only time he’d seen Hux genuinely angry when they were off duty, which should have been a sign that he really didn’t want to do this. But Kylo hadn’t responded well to his gift being rejected, and they had fought about it. Much to his surprise, Hux had relented, consenting to the trip suddenly.  He had let his barriers down slightly during their argument, and when he had stepped back and shook his head, dismissing Kylo, Kylo had sensed something like exasperation, though no genuine anger.  There had also been a tinge of some memory that Kylo couldn’t quite interpret.  Kylo had still been angry enough not to question Hux's behavior, though he wondered at the sudden switch now.

Throughout the day and a half it had taken to get to Coruscant, Kylo had reassured him again and again that they would be safe, that Carnival Week was a large holiday and they wouldn’t be spotted. Hux had called him an idiot, but said he’d go anyway, telling Kylo (rather melodramatically, he thought) that he was putting their lives in Kylo’s hands.

He really hadn’t considered what a bad idea a trip to Coruscant would be for the two of them until Hux pointed it out. He was used to going wherever he pleased, and had been here before. It was the easiest meeting spot for what he had in mind. Still, he refused to concede the point to Hux on principle. They were doing this, because Kylo planned it. Though he realized, as they were arguing, that Hux was uncomfortable with the trip, and that was eating him slowly in a way he wasn’t at all sure he liked.

In return for Kylo’s stubborn refusal to turn around or alter course, Hux had refused to wear the Imperial uniform. He also, apparently, refused to act as anything but his confident self on the surface of Coruscant, which was likely to get them both captured. Kylo also hadn’t foreseen this, although he should have. Foresight had never been his strength, with either the Force or logic.  

But maybe the First Order wasn't quite as famous as they all assumed, because they were currently attracting no attention.  That was a good first step.

Kylo had become more comfortable on their trips together, and around Hux in general, to the point of organizing this one himself as a surprise. It was not going well, so far. Hux had seemed charmed by the idea at first, but had dug his heels in as soon as Kylo began revealing it.

Kylo gave a cursory glance out to the Coruscant skyline that Hux was admiring, and turned back to him, sneering, still feeling rejected and outmaneuvered by Hux claiming to know how to dress. “I suppose you know best what to do in a city this large, in Republic territory, _General_.”

It was a low blow. Hux turned back to him, his face not registering anything, though Kylo picked up on a spike of hurt, betrayal, then anger before Hux could smother it. Part of Kylo's enthusiasm while organizing the trip was the thought that Hux had likely never seen even a large city, let alone the decrepit planet-wide metropolis of Coruscant. Most truly large cities were in the Core, a handful were in the mid-Rim. Kylo had yet to see any in the Outer Rim or the Unknown Regions. He hadn’t thought of the difficulties, and perhaps he should have, but they could do this if they were careful. They were only two men.

Kylo exhaled and closed his eyes, removing his own First Order command cap and running a gloved hand over the braids he had put in his hair. He was wearing his own plain black First Order uniform, without insignia, thinking they would look less out-of-place if they were both wearing them.  The less attention they could attract, the easier it would be to mask their presence, which was what he had been planning to do from the first.

“Okay,” Kylo said, calming himself. This was his trip. It would be fine. He didn’t want to screw it up before they even reached their destination. He repositioned his cap, opened his eyes, pulled off a glove, and reached a hand out to Hux. “Like I told you, we won't be spotted. And you're right, it doesn't really matter what we wear. I can use a diversion to keep people from really seeing us. It will be easier to enact on both of us if we hold hands.” It would also be easier to see what Hux was thinking, which he would enjoy, but he didn’t say that.

Hux looked down at his extended palm, then back up to Kylo, still giving nothing away. He left his own hands behind his back, still in parade rest.

Kylo let his annoyance show again. “What?” he asked flatly.

Hux glanced down at Kylo’s open palm again, then let his eyes drift back out to the crowd, remaining silent.

Kylo's annoyance was edged somewhat by confusion. “It’s an easy misdirection. I can do it in my sleep. We’ll be safe, I promise.” His brow creased. “You won’t feel it, if that’s what you’re worried about.”  He paused.  "I don't have to influence your thoughts to do it, either."

Without looking at Kylo, Hux answered. “You can’t do it without touching me?”

Kylo frowned. “Touching you?" Kylo had touched every inch of Hux, at this point. "I have to think about it much less if we’re touching. It’s easier for me.” His frowned deepened, and the annoyance came back. “I know you’re not shy, _Armitage_.”

Hux turned back to him, and Kylo saw, just barely, spots of color high on his cheeks. “This is rather public, _Ben_.”

They needled each other with their names when away from the ship. Kylo didn’t mind it, coming from Hux. It came with no baggage save for pettiness.

“It’s a public holiday! We’re wearing matching costumes! If we’re holding hands, people will just see a couple walking down the street, and I can play off that!”

The color in Hux’s face deepened, turned slightly redder. “We can’t just… walk down the street, holding hands.” His voice had gone lower, in contrast to the increasing volume of Kylo’s retorts.

Kylo put his hand over his face, then took a step into Hux’s personal space. “You made _xenophilia holoporn_ ,” he hissed. “How can you disapprove of holding my hand in public? This is anonymous! It's not as if we'd be embracing each other on the bridge of the _Finalizer_.”

Kylo felt a slight discomfort, saw tension register in Hux’s eyes and at the corners of his mouth, as he took a step back and looked around the platform again. “It’s not done.”

“You’ll like it much less if I put you to sleep and carry you to our destination.” Kylo clenched his jaw, and Hux’s eyes widened a moment, just a fraction, before he looked away again. Kylo wouldn’t, because they still had hours to kill. He also remembered Hux's spike of fear, his memories of the first time Kylo had used his powers against him, and Kylo didn't want that. He didn't want Hux afraid of him. He didn’t know how he was going to get Hux off the platform, though, if Hux didn’t consent to this.

Hux met his eyes with a challenge, seeming to read all that off Kylo. “You wouldn’t.”

Kylo had a bad moment, where he almost scrapped the entire trip, turned around, and left Hux on Coruscant to his fate. He should have known better than to try anything new for Hux. He closed his eyes again. He just wanted to do something nice, was all. Why was Hux being so difficult about a simple Force misdirection?

With his eyes closed, he calmed himself. Took a breath. Cleared his head. Opened his eyes again, and took in Hux’s posture, his tension, the way his eyes kept darting around. The color on his face, so uncharacteristic.

Hux was uncomfortable. Of course Hux was uncomfortable here. Kylo had to be patient. Hux had been very patient with him, after all. Wasn’t this like taking Hux to a club? One Kylo knew better than him?

And he thought about the austere public face of the Unknown Regions, and what he knew of First Order and remnant Imperial culture. And it clicked. Something Kylo knew, and Hux didn’t. It seemed so natural to him.

“Do couples not hold hands?” he tried, keeping his voice even.

Hux gave him a brief look. “Of course not. That sort of thing is private.”

“Okay.” Kylo put his hand out again. “They do in the New Republic. I promise you that this will be the least conspicuous thing about us.”

Hux looked at his hand again. “It’s…” he looked up at Kylo, the same expression on his face, but Kylo could now feel Hux’s tension, broadcasting very clearly. “Nobody simply _advertises_  like that.”

Kylo shrugged, scanning the platform. “Look around. I see at least three couples holding hands.”

Hux turned abruptly, startled, and Kylo looked over his shoulder. It was true. Two pairs of men and women were walking in a group, holding hands in pairs. Closer to them, two women were holding hands. Another pair of older women, each holding the hand of a small boy, were across the port.

Hux turned back around, his face fully red, his eyes cast on the ground. “That’s not something to flaunt in public.”

Kylo blinked at him, overwhelmed for a moment by Hux’s discomfiture, his embarrassment, and how charming it was. He shook his head, grabbing Hux’s wrist and pulling off his glove. Hux let him. Kylo stuffed the glove in his own pocket, and took Hux’s hand in his. It was overly warm, and slightly damp.

It was so rare to see Hux nervous that Kylo almost commented on it, but decided against it. Hux hadn’t, when their situations were reversed, and he was sure it had been just as strange to see Kylo Ren nervous. Or at least he liked to think so. He squeezed his hand instead, looking away.

Touching Hux, when not overwhelmed intimately, made it easier to get the feel of his thoughts. He was unbelievably mortified at the public display, overwhelmed, and cursing himself for not demanding they leave. He also seemed incredibly moved that Kylo was doing something like this for him, and that it was so surprising.

Kylo bit his tongue, reminding himself to cast the misdirection. A simple thing. They would be seen, but not recognized. Eyes would pass over them.

“We’re just two people in a crowd. Relax. Please.”

Hux wouldn’t look at him, and Kylo huffed.

His original plan had been to linger in the ballroom of the hotel until the evening, which was allegedly still the center of Carnival Week, hosting the largest party in the city. It was still largely a formal ball. He had bothered to check and make sure it still existed before he decided on the trip. It wasn't what they normally did, but it should be different enough to be novel for both of them. He had planned to mix with the crowd and imbibe light food and drink as they usually did at the Club, before going to the room for their arranged liaison. Kylo had planned to simply blend in with the crowd, though in retrospect, perhaps he hadn’t thought that through. Still, the Force misdirection would work, if it was even necessary. He thought it wouldn’t be, at a large party where everyone was in costume.

But Hux was so uncomfortable that Kylo thought better of going to the ball right away. It might be easier to take him someplace quieter, to relax him first.

“Come on. I’m hungry. They’ll have information at the lobby about where we can go to eat.”

As Kylo watched, fascinated, he felt Hux willing himself calm, willing the blush from his face. His features kept their imperious, impersonal cast, and his posture betrayed nothing of his discomfort. He gave Kylo a neutral look, then gestured in front of them. Kylo suppressed a grin as he turned and led the two of them across the platform.

He could still feel Hux’s terrified discomfort, held at bay with a steady hand, but nothing about his expression or body language betrayed it. Kylo envied him the control.

As they walked across the platform, he could feel Hux continuing to deride himself for allowing this to happen, and his curiosity and fondness as he thought about what Kylo had in mind.

Kylo scowled to cover his own pleasure. He hoped Hux would like it.

 

  
***

  
_Kylo sat at the bar, helmet off and perched next to him on the bartop, having drunk slightly more than he had intended. As such, he was chatting with the bartender Urathine, whose species he still didn’t know and never bothered to ask. Urathine was always strangely eager to indulge him, mostly to pry about Hux’s personal life. Drinking had loosened Kylo’s tongue in the past, and and it had been Urathine, not Hux, he had asked for advice about his new hobby and how to reconcile it with his lifestyle. Urathine had convinced him stop questioning whether the club visits were something he should do. The clubs had and still did make him feel like a different person, and it had taken him time to get used to it. But it wasn’t a person with rules, or a person he consciously had to play the part of, and it was an incredible relief to him. After the first few trips, this version of himself stayed here, and was always here when he needed it. It helped him be Kylo Ren completely the rest of the time, knowing he had an escape._

_Tonight, Hux was by himself with a shy Rodian who hadn’t wanted Kylo in the room with them. Kylo had conceded amicably and told Hux and the Rodian to enjoy themselves. A half-formed idea had occurred to him, and he needed to speak to Urathine to get more details._

_“Are there any species that don’t come to the clubs?” He spoke Bocce to Urathine, who spoke terrible Bocce, but did not speak Basic._

_The bartender looked at him, arching their long blue neck and moving their fingers in a gesture Kylo couldn’t interpret. “Plenty. Lots around who think they’re better.”_

_Kylo snorted. “Who doesn’t?”_

_Urathine put their fingertips together and bowed. “Many don’t, Kylo Ren.”_

_Kylo drained his glass, set it down, and looked at them. “Fine. But many do. The General told me…” he gestured with one hand, “There’s a club on Csilla. I suppose that’s the only one Chiss go to?” He’d seen maybe three here, and never with a partner._

_Urathine swept their hand out parallel to the counter in a graceful gesture that was meaningless to Kylo. “They are not often here, no. Do not approach others when they are. Yes, Chiss think they are better.” They paused, looking out across the bar. “I do not travel, I do not see others. Kylo Ren travels? Who doesn’t Kylo Ren see here?”_

_Kylo shrugged. “I thought you might know more about the species of the galaxy, considering your profession.”_

_Urathine inclined their small head forward. “Not a xenobiologist. Not a patron.”_

_Kylo arched an eyebrow. “But you can offer advice about who might be compatible with who.” Kylo had seen it, though Hux knew enough that Kylo hadn’t had to ask himself._

_“Why does Kylo Ren ask?”_

_Kylo looked down at the bar, spreading his hands, and picked at a seam in the plating that made up the countertop. “I just wondered if there was… some way for me to find a partner for the General. Like, a new experience. A species that won’t come into the clubs, but…” he looked up. “Are still like us, I guess. There’s probably some like us on every planet, right?” It came out strange, a little tight, but Kylo supposed the vagaries of human speech were lost on many species._

_Urathine stared at Kylo with their unreadable face. “That is true, Kylo Ren. An interesting thought, for the General. He does not work outside the clubs. But sometimes, not a good surprise.” They paused. “For most. But him? He likes everything. He may like it.” Another pause. “But is Kylo Ren not the new partner that the General wants?”_

_Kylo didn’t lift his gaze from the seam in the counter. He didn’t want to get into that with Urathine, or Hux, or himself, really. When Kylo didn’t respond, Urathine continued gracefully._

_“So who does Kylo Ren not see here? Does Kylo Ren have anyone in mind?”_

_Kylo huffed. “Chiss.” He thought a moment about Hutt Space. “Hutts.”_

_Urathine made another hand gesture near their face. “Sometimes the Hutts come. They need no one, but they like to watch.” The bartender made another gesture. “On Nomad City in Nkllon, where there is a club, those I see that don’t come? Munn. Falleen. Both do business, but don’t come. Both are_ better _, so they say. Won’t barely talk to others.” They paused a moment, then continued. “Sometimes,” another hand gesture that Kylo couldn’t interpret. “I talk to ones who do business with. The ones who come here? Talk to other species? More likely to have a taste, but won’t come here. You find a regular, sometimes they know the network outside the clubs.”_

_Kylo frowned, not quite understanding. “The network outside the clubs?”_

_Urathine gestured again. “Social. Beings who know beings. You talk to them, there are many who can’t come to clubs, or won’t. But they still are_ like us _, like Kylo Ren say.”_

_Kylo swiveled on the stool and looked out at the club. “Anyone here tonight that would know?”_

_They paused. “I will tell Kylo Ren when I find someone. I will ask. Company that the General has not had. Many would help with that. Many like the General.” Urathine put a finger to the center of their forehead. “It is a good thing, that Kylo Ren does.”_

_Kylo glanced at the bartender, then looked back out at the club, feeling more confident. It would be a nice thing to do, after Hux had given him this._

 

  
***

 

  
The hotel was far shabbier than he remembered it. Coruscant in general was - he knew, vaguely, that it had suffered when the center of the Republic moved to Hosnian Prime, but this was far worse than he would have expected. There were a few crumbling hotels clustered together meant to evoke High Imperial nostalgia, and a ring of businesses serving them, but the city, and the whole planet, had been left to rot, with only a few areas of lights spluttering on as the sun set. Wind had whipped grit into their faces outside, and Kylo realized the artificial weather control had failed. The lines of speeder traffic he remembered seeing in holos growing up were completely absent, only a handful of ships drifting around the platforms of the hotels. More than once he had felt the hungry intentions of pickpocketers pass over the pair of them, not taking them in as targets, or anything at all.

Hux hadn’t wanted to sightsee, and also hadn’t wanted to hire a speeder. Kylo had teased him about his face being well-known by every driver on the planet. Hux hadn’t liked it. Kylo had sourly consented to walking, using the lifts and platforms to get them between levels and buildings. It wound up being fortunate indeed that the liveliest part of the city was reachable without transport.

Dinner had been better than walking around, and had calmed Hux somewhat. The Force misdirection had been unnecessary in the low light of the restaurant. Kylo had suspected Hux of being a picky eater, based on what they ate while out at the clubs. Years of military rations had likely destroyed his palate. Kylo felt sorry for him as he tucked into the nerf steak, slightly tough and overdone, but still better than anything they ate on the _Finalizer._  Hux, predictably, picked unenthusiastically at it, claiming not to like large cuts of meat. It was more, and finer, than the First Order provided its personnel. Kylo tried not to take it personally that Hux didn’t enjoy the meal.

Hux had relaxed at the restaurant, and Kylo had put work in to make it so. He had told Hux the story of meeting Mas Amedda as a boy, which was the first time he’d talked about Ben Solo to anyone since leaving his family. Hux, in turn, had told him about Mas Amedda. Kylo had been unaware Mas Amedda had been sentenced to remain on Coruscant as a punishment while the New Republic reassigned industry and resources elsewhere, killing the planet out from under him. Mas Amedda had watched the city-wide planet starve, under the supervision of Mon Mothma and Leia Organa. It was a horrible story, even while Kylo took Hux’s fanaticism with a grain of salt.

Afterward, evening had begun to fall, and it had been time to go to the ball. Hux had conceded to the hand-holding more easily this time, and Kylo had given his glove back when they reached the groaning, poorly maintained lift on the front of of their massive hotel. There was a smell of stale cleaner inside, and the lights flickered as they rose a few levels to the ballroom.

The ballroom of the hotel was as run-down as the rest of it, with peeling paint, chipped and badly patched columns, and obvious wear ruts in the tiny red-and-white tiles that covered the floor, lumpy and heaved with age. The lights were patchy at best, and what was lit was sickly yellow and often spluttered and flickered. But it still seemed like a gathering place for the population - or, at the very least, the guests of the creaky hotel, though he wondered if even this many people came to Coruscant for Carnival Week anymore. The crowd was much reduced from the festivities he remembered as a child, and the costumes were simpler, lacking the gold braid, sweeping capes, and fine fabrics. Only a few white Grand Admirals stood out in the crowd. The music was much as he remembered, though. There was a 14-piece group playing mostly upbeat dance numbers, and there was a space in the center where many of the ball’s patrons danced, both singly and in pairs, seemingly oblivious to the lumpy floor.

He and Hux had come in, their hats pulled down, and Kylo relaxed more when he saw that most everyone at the Carnival Week party was dressed in Imperial Uniforms. He didn’t spot anyone in First Order uniforms, but they didn’t stand out badly amid the black, white, and gray around them. He didn’t have to worry about the Force cloaking, or Hux being recognized. Hopefully. Still, his eyes scanned the crowd, and he let his senses probe for anyone who was strong with the Force. It didn’t hurt to be vigilant.

They had gotten drinks, and Kylo was drinking faster than he should. He was nervous. Hux didn’t ask what they were doing here, sensing a surprise and waiting for Kylo to mention it. He seemed to be enjoying himself in the crowd, letting his eyes roam curiously around the room.

“Mostly humans,” Hux quipped.

Kylo looked around, trying to spot any other species. “There’s three Balosaurs over there.”

“And a group of Miralan.” Hux tipped his glass, and Kylo saw the Miralan standing out in the crowd. They were dressed in more formal old-style senate robes, their faces and clothing elaborately decorated, the color and ornament a sharp contrast to the austerity of most of the uniforms.

“I wonder if they’re trying to make a statement,” Kylo mused aloud, thinking of he and his mother in their Jedi robes.

“Likely that New Republic society is just as xenophobic and human-centric as Imperial.”

Kylo huffed laughter. They had never spoken of this, and he wasn’t about to indulge Hux’s fanaticism now. He continued to look for non-human beings, curious. Two Twi’leks, a pair of Pantorans, and a lone Devaronian dressed in Stormtrooper armor without the helmet were the only others he spotted.

“This reminds me of a holo I saw when I was young,” Hux remarked, eyes still scanning the crowd. “They had a few prop vids to remind us what we were suffering for, in terms of our lack of food, heat, and other comforts.” His eyes came back to Kylo, and he took a sip of his drink. “One of them was an Imperial Officer’s Ball. It looked like this.” He paused. “Actually, remarkably like this. Perhaps it was shot here.”

Kylo nodded slowly. “I… was told this was always the grandest venue in the city. It’s likely.”

“Funny, that we never started anything similar, even after things got better. You’d think we would, just as a sign of progress.”

Kylo grinned slightly, looking at Hux. “Dancing requires touching. The First Order apparently grew past the need for human affection, and there’s a lot of that at these.” When Hux didn’t rise to the bait, Kylo went on, looking back out to the crowd. “The one I went to was… better. Bigger.”

Hux snorted. “Of course it was.”

Kylo frowned. “No, it’s just…” His own eyes scanned the crowd, and he struggled to put his disappointment into words. “I was hoping to show you something better than this.”

Hux hid his expression with his glass, but Kylo could tell he was pleased, his blue eyes on Kylo’s. “It’s still new to me. It doesn’t have to be better than this. Do you think I’m not impressed that you brought me to Coruscant? It’s incredibly brazen.”

Kylo couldn’t hide his own blush, and he felt his face flame as he looked away. He tried to take a drink, but found his glass empty, and he hurried away, mumbling an excuse about getting more.

When he returned, weaving his way through the sea of mostly-olive uniforms, it was to find Hux chatting with a woman with long, dark hair falling in braids down her back, one of the few wearing a very nice Grand Admiral uniform. He was surprised that Hux appeared to indulge her, though perhaps he shouldn’t be. Hux was fairly chatty at the Clubs, even with those he wasn’t seeking company with.

Kylo didn’t interrupt, but stood behind the woman, close enough to eavesdrop.

“-My first time on Coruscant, actually.”

The woman nodded. “You sound like you’re from the Outer Rim. Some Imperial holdout. Your accent isn’t fake.” Her own accent was as Republican as Kylo’s. She laughed, gesturing to Hux’s uniform. “Your costume is appropriate, then. Some sort of statement? Or did you have to flee from their iron grip?”

Hux’s face remained neutral, and he took another measured sip from his drink, obviously considering his response. “Perhaps it’s a statement to the contrary. What if I still live in the Outer Rim, and think the First Order is a better option than the New Republic?”

The woman laughed harder, and she rested a hand against Hux’s shoulder briefly. “Come on. They’re just a bunch of wannabe Imperials with weapons. They’re not doing anything for anyone. Is that your routine for the weekend? Getting everyone riled up with the ‘New Imperials?’”

Hux’s eyes darted over her shoulder to Kylo, who wasn’t able to keep the amusement off his face.

“And your costume,” Hux offered, switching topics rapidly, “I see you’ve assigned yourself the highest rank available.”

“You like it?” She pulled at her cape, showing it off to Hux. “I made it last year. I like the dress-up. And uniforms. I can get away with wearing one and getting an eyeful of other people in them here, without looking like an Imperial sympathizer. Uniforms have always been my thing, if you know what I mean.”

Hux’s eyebrows went up, and he opened his mouth to respond, but fell silent when she took his hat off and began studying it.

“You’ve got a nice one. Great workmanship. Looks like you really know how to wear it, too. I’d swear it comes from the First Order.”

“It does,” Hux replied, without missing a beat, and the woman laughed.

“I’d ditch the hat, though. Your hair is too beautiful to cover.” Her hand reached out and stroked Hux’s hair, which was stiff and loaded with product, as usual.

Kylo took a sip, waiting to see how Hux continued. Hux narrowed his eyes, and took another sip of his own drink.

“It’s regulation. But I can relax when I want to.”

“That’s good to hear. I like a man who’s just as comfortable out of uniform as in.” Her had moved down to first hook a gloved finger into Hux’s high collar, then lower, to finger the zipper in the front of his tunic. “A shame that the First Order doesn’t have the same aesthetic sense to hide the closure like the Empire. But-” her finger hooked into his belt, and she pulled. “It does make it easier to get on and off, doesn’t it?”

Hux’s expression didn’t change. “I’ve found that to be the case, yes.”

Kylo almost didn’t suppress a bark of laughter.

“Ah, even better, a fellow uniform enthusiast _and_  a man of experience.”

“You could also say that, yes.”

She ran her hand back up the plane of his stomach and chest. “And you just look so good, don’t you? Perfect posture, perfect hair.” Her palm rested just above his heart. “And such a tall, sharp-looking gentleman.” She leaned closer, whispering into his ear, and Kylo pressed in with the Force to eavesdrop. “Are you gentle in the bed? Or a believer in discipline, maybe? Punishment?”

Hux turned to face her, looking more amused. “I’m always up for anything.”

“Good,” she whispered, and leaned more of her weight against his chest, her hand going around his waist. “Then what would you say to getting out of here. Promptly.” She leaned in and bit his earlobe. “ _Sir._ ”

Hux gently pushed her back. “I’d have to see if my partner would be interested.” And here, he deliberately let his gaze linger over her shoulder, on Kylo. Kylo was disappointed to see the scene end so soon. Hux pushed the woman on the shoulder, spinning her around. Kylo walked up and joined the group.

The woman had a round face, brown eyes, and looked disappointed, almost angry, as she turned back to Hux. “You could have just said you came with someone, instead of leading me on.”

Hux looked over at Kylo again. “I wasn’t leading you on. Ky-” he cut himself off, turned the syllable into a tongue click. His face didn’t show his mistake, or whether he was serious about this or not. “Ben, would you be interested?”

Kylo took the offer at face value and looked the woman up and down, taking another idle sip of his drink. The anger melted from the woman’s face, replaced by confusion.

“Interested in what? A partner swap?” Her nose wrinkled with distaste. “I didn’t come here with anyone.”

“I like to watch,” Kylo drawled, enjoying the look of shock on her face again.

“ _Ben_ ,” Hux admonished. “You know it’s more polite to offer active participation first.” This was a lie, they never did that. Kylo was more convinced Hux was toying with the woman, though he’d be willing to try if Hux was interested. Hux’s gaze shifted back to the woman. “Would you want both of us at once?”

Her jaw fell open, and her eyes went from Hux to Kylo. “Are you serious?”

Kylo shrugged. “Sure.” They had never had sex with another human actually, other than each other. They'd managed, rather successfully, to make sex work with no xeno partner, and Kylo lazily assessed the possibilities in a third human partner. Kylo wondered if he’d be able to get off to that, though he could do it easy enough with just Hux. Maybe it would be fine, if Hux was there too.

Her mouth closed, and she seemed to consider the offer seriously, eyeing Ben up and down. “A matching uniform. Cute.”

“Not matching,” Hux cut in, sharply. “He doesn’t have a rank. I’m a General.” He held up the sleeve of his uniform in demonstration.

“Ah, I see. I’ve never seen a First Order uniform up close before.” Her eyes went back up, taking in Ben’s broad chest. She reached up and removed his hat, and her face lit up when she saw Ben’s neatly braided hair. “Oh, I like what you’ve done with your hair, but that can’t be regulation.”

“It’s not,” Hux muttered into his cup.

The woman’s eyes darted to Hux briefly, then back to Ben, her face growing more intrigued. “You’re a bit larger than I like, but I can work with that.” Her palm came up to his chest, running over the front, then her eyes met his. “More to hold me down with, right?” She set her drink on a passing tray, and her other hand came up to lightly cup his crotch. He jumped, not expecting the intimate touch in public. “Are you big all over?”

Hux laughed into his drink, and Kylo gave him a look. Hux answered for him. “He is, I can assure you.”

The woman’s face got even brighter, turning back to Kylo. “Even better.”

Kylo wasn’t nearly as versatile in bed as Hux was, and wasn’t at all sure he could perform as this woman desired. He frowned down at her. “You’ll have to show me.”

“He takes instruction well.” When Kylo scowled over at him again, Hux was still impassive.

The woman looked even more eager, but her face fell to confusion again as she studied Kylo’s face. “You look familiar, actually.”

Kylo shrugged again, unconcerned. The only time he showed his face was in the clubs, and he didn’t recognize this woman. “I’m not around here often. I’m sure we’ve never met.”

“But your accent…”

He took a sip of his drink. “I grew up in the core, but not around here.” He inclined his glass at Hux. “I’m a First Order fanatic along with the General, remember?”

The woman shook her head, her hand moving up to stroke his hair, his cap still in her other hand. “Yes, but I’m sure…” she squinted. “You look so familiar.”

Kylo shook his head, growing uncomfortable with the scrutiny. “No, I haven’t been here since I was little.”  Since he was-

Her face lit up with recognition. “Oh, he called you Ben! You’re Ben Solo!”

Kylo stiffened and went cold. He kept his face still, but it was accidentally, more than intentionally. He hadn’t dreamed of this. A roaring began in his ears, and he almost didn’t hear her next words.

She clapped her hands together, the cap dangling from her thumb. “That’s it, but…” She look confused again. “You haven’t been seen since you were young. I thought you were dead.”

Hux laughed, taking Kylo’s cap from her hand and settling it back on his head. He looked up into Kylo’s face, laying a hand on his shoulder and squeezing. “I told you it would work.” He turned back to the woman, squeezing Kylo’s shoulder harder. “He thought it would be funny if he did himself up to look like a defected Ben Solo.  Like Ben Solo worked for the First Order?”  Hux turned to him, looking calmly up into his eyes.  "I told you that you did a good job with your face."

Hux sat his glass down and took Kylo’s glass from his hand, which was shaking, the other clenching and unclenching at his side. “I knew someone would recognize it. I’m glad it wasn’t lost on the Grand Admiral here.” He squeezed Kylo’s shoulder a third time, shaking it, and reached a thumb up to run along Kylo’s cheek. Kylo began to relax, slightly.

He heard the woman laugh. “That’s pretty good! Obscure, but good. There probably aren’t that many people that would recognize the First Order uniforms in the first place.”

Hux began pulling Kylo away. It didn’t matter. She hadn’t really recognized him. Ben Solo wasn’t him. Ben Solo was dead, Hux was right, this was just a costume. A costume.

“I like this song. Dance with me.” His arm went down around Kylo’s waist, and Hux pulled him close as they walked away, Hux dismissing the woman over his shoulder. “I think we have plans for the next several hours, but look us up later, if you’re interested. We’ll be here all weekend.” Hux winked at her, and turned back to Kylo, nearly dragging him to the center of the dance floor.

Kylo hadn’t danced in nearly two decades, and Hux never. As he got himself back under control, Kylo could feel the discomfort and embarrassment seeping from Hux, both at their proximity and his complete ignorance of what was involved with dancing. Still, Hux seemed to know a little of how it worked, in theory. He put his hands in the right place. Hux's own discomfort, and the way he was hiding it for Kylo's benefit, calmed Kylo down further.

The song was slightly slower, so he drew their chests together, and was able to hold Kylo close, whispering in his ear.

“You may not know this, but your face gives away every thought you have. I don’t even have to be a mind-reader. You’re lucky you wear a mask.”

Under other circumstances, Kylo would be mortified, but right now, he needed to calm down. He took a few deep breaths, turning to hiss into Hux’s ear.

“Don’t use my name. What is _wrong_  with you?”

“Oh please,” Hux hissed, defensively. He was silent for a few moments, then relaxed slightly, murmuring more quietly. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. But you know I was your biggest fan.”

Kylo let out a huff of laughter, relaxing in Hux’s arms. When he didn’t say anything in response to the apology, Hux continued.

“You looked like you were going to slay her and every other person in the room for a moment. Don’t let it upset you so much.”

Kylo buried his face against Hux’s shoulder, humiliated. “I didn’t think I would be recognized.”

“ _I_  recognized you, and that was in Hutt Space, not even at the former Galactic Capital.”

Hux couldn’t hold a beat, and they stumbled. Kylo was forced to take the lead, shifting his arms slightly, but not lifting his face from Hux’s shoulder, not wanting anyone to see and in no state to cloak them.

When he didn’t respond, Hux pulled him in tighter. “It’s a costume, Kylo. You’re simply dressed as Ben Solo. It would be the same if I was recognized. It’s just another kind of mask. You should be used to it by now.”

At this, Kylo looked up and sighed. “This was a bad idea, you were right. We should leave.”

“No.” Hux squeezed his hand. “I always wondered what it would be like to dance when I saw that holo of the Imperial Officer’s Ball.”

Kylo frowned. “You’re terrible at it.”

“It is my first time. Are you any good? I can’t tell.”

Kylo dipped him in response. He’d never tried it before, but it felt like the right rebuttal. Hux frowned at him as Kylo drew him in closer. “I thought you wouldn’t be interested in drawing attention to yourself, after that.”

Kylo grinned, feeling suddenly more confident. “It’s hard. Apparently we both look good in uniform.”

Hux’s eyes glittered. “Careful, Ren. I might not be the only one that fantasized about dancing with Ben Solo at an Officer's Ball.”

Kylo’s mouth fell open. “What?”

Hux’s face shuttered. “Something to consider.”

Kylo was silent, but investigated Hux’s feelings, not trusting him to make any further comment. Embarrassment, mostly, but also a fondness, and, yes, he was having fun. Apparently his last comment had been sincere.

Kylo relaxed. That was the point, after all.

 

 

***

 

  
They went up to the 70th floor late in the evening. Hux didn’t ask, though Kylo knew he was aware that they were meeting someone for sex. They hadn’t talked about it, but it was what they did on these trips. It was what they had in common. Hux seemed curious and intrigued about what Kylo had found outside the Club’s usual clientele. Kylo wasn’t sure what to expect, either.

When they got to the room, with its gray door chipped and dented, Kylo took a breath and turned to face Hux.

“I wanted to do something for you…” Kylo stopped, then decided not to explain further. “So I tried to find a partner that wouldn’t come into the Clubs.”

Hux’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? That’s more interesting than I thought.” He crossed his arms in front of him. “Are we going in to meet them?”

“Before we do,” Kylo dropped his eyes. “I want to make sure you’re okay with a couple things.”

“What do you think I wouldn’t be okay with?”

This was a fair question. Kylo had yet to see Hux turn down any partner in the Clubs that wouldn't outright kill them, and Hux was far more tolerant of the range of pleasure than Kylo was. Most recently, Kylo had needed to leave the room to let Hux fuck a Bothan by himself. The smell was so awful that Kylo had nearly thrown up, and couldn’t even watch.

Kylo suspected there must be some things Hux wasn’t into, though the only thing he’d heard Hux advise against were species that wanted to consume them or would physically kill them, were they to engage a human sexually. Oddly, there were others that sought out the Club for, as far as Kylo could tell, some sort of death at their hands. It wasn’t something that interested him.

Kylo had made sure this wasn’t the type that would kill or eat them, but it still worried him a bit.

When Kylo paused too long, Hux continued. “Isn’t this a conversation we should have with our partner, too?”

“Well, it is, and we will, but-”

The door opened, Kylo supposed they had been overheard. He trailed off, and both he and Hux stared up at well over two meters of solidly muscled Falleen. It stood blocking the doorway, holding a large brown ceramic vessel in one hand that it drank messily from. It lowered it and wiped its chin against its wrist, considering them.

Kylo’s brow furrowed as he looked up the height of the Falleen’s body. It had pale green skin the color of Endorrean grapes, covered in tiny scales that shimmered slightly in the light. It was swathed in a sleeveless purple shimmersilk robe, and was wearing thick gold bands up its arms with etchings that Kylo did not recognize. It had a frowning lipless mouth, cold blue eyes with a horizontal pupil, and thick ridges that ran across the top of its bald head back to, from what Kylo could see, a black ponytail perched high on its head. Was that the only spot that its hair grew?

With its large eyes, high cheekbones, prominent chin, and thick jaw, Kylo was finding it uncomfortably attractive. It possessed enough humanoid musculature to make Kylo feel shabby himself. Kylo typically didn’t find his partners attractive until they began enjoying one another, but this Falleen was apparently an exception. He glanced at Hux briefly, who was predictably visibly unaffected, and shielding his emotions well from Kylo.

The Falleen’s expression did not change from frigid haughtiness. “General Tagge. Admiral Motti. You are late. And wearing the wrong uniforms. How tasteless. If I wanted someone with a uniform fetish, I well know where to go.” Without waiting for an answer, it turned back around and went into the room.

Hux turned to Kylo and raised his eyebrows. “Tagge and Motti?”

Kylo rolled his eyes. “I needed obvious aliases. And it would have made more sense in the uniform you didn’t want to wear.”

Hux shook his head, stepping into the room. He put a hand on Kylo’s shoulder, and pulled him close.

“A _Falleen_? Are you insane?” he whispered into Kylo’s ear.

Touching, Kylo could feel barely suppressed anger and frustration, still with a level of fondness.

The Falleen turned around, looking at them both in the doorway again. “If you’re done gossiping amongst yourselves, I would like to get started.”

Kylo swallowed, tried to wet his mouth, still standing close to Hux. “We weren’t late,” he tried, keeping his voice firm and authoritative, trying to make himself be Kylo Ren in this moment. He wished he had thought to bring his lightsaber, his fingers itched for it at his side. Hux had told him not to, since it would be more likely to be spotted on Coruscant. That was true, he otherwise wouldn’t have left it on the ship.

“But you kept me waiting, and you aren’t worth it.”

“Excuse me, we were just going,” Hux stepped in front of Kylo. “My acquaintance arranged this meeting, and is less familiar with this than I am. He doesn’t know that Falleen shouldn’t be anywhere near humans.”

The Falleen snorted, and sat on the edge of the bed. “Of course. Humans are cowards. But I already had my afternoon planned out, and I don’t like to be disappointed.”

Hux slowed and stopped, his hand on the door. He turned back around. “Of course. I wouldn’t want to disappoint you.”

Kylo put up a hand, more sure of himself now. “I have no problem disappointing you. If you don’t stop that, we’ll both leave.”

The Falleen’s eyes narrowed, and Kylo had a hard time not staring at the line of its jaw, the smooth pale green ridges that ran back over the dome of its head. “What?”

“I was told you were tired of fucking Gand and Kel Dor. I have the same charms, but don’t come with the mask.” Today, anyway. Normally he did.

The Falleen’s face turned absolutely murderous. Hux knelt on the ground and covered his face, bowing his head to the Falleen, making quiet keening noises. Kylo glanced down at him, then back at the Falleen, raising his palm again and throwing the barest twinge of fear into it.

“Stop. Now.”

The Falleen’s eyes widened, and Hux quieted, blinking and standing again. He wiped his face, then glared at Kylo, not bothering to compose himself.

“We’re leaving. We are not meeting with a Falleen outside the safety of a Club.”

Kylo huffed. “I know about the mind control. It doesn’t affect me. See?”

Hux looked to Kylo’s outstretched palm, and at the incapacitated Falleen. He crossed his arms, then looked back to Kylo, exasperated.

“Can you put it to sleep for a moment?”

Kylo’s hand closed, and the Falleen fell back onto the bed. After it settled, Hux laid into him.

“I appreciate the thought, Kylo, really. But this is one of the reasons I only go to the Clubs. The Clubs are safe, they have rules, and everyone watches out. This Falleen can ask us anything it wants, and we would answer it. We would tell it our identities, and it would simply kidnap us and ransom us to the highest bidder. We should leave now.”

Kylo scowled. “Why would it bother asking us who we are? We’re just a quick fuck.”

“I certainly would, in its position.”

“Nice.” Kylo was slightly troubled that Hux was worried about being exploited professionally rather than sexually, but decided not to comment. “But I told you, it can’t use its pheromones on me. I don’t have to answer its questions or do what it says.”

“What about me? It just had me sobbing on the floor.”

“And I stopped it.” Kylo gestured to the bed in frustration. “If that’s all your worried about, its not a problem. If I told you that it won’t kidnap us or ask us who we are, would you want to proceed?”

Hux grew quiet, considering the Falleen on the bed. “Would you let it use its pheromones to tell me what to do otherwise?”

Kylo shrugged. “Only if you wanted it to.”

Hux nodded. “That could be interesting.”

He thought Hux might like that. He seemed to enjoy the dominant partners, though not when Kylo had attempted it himself. “Is there anything else, other than disclosing our identities or kidnapping us, that you wouldn’t want it to do?”

Hux walked closer to the bed. “It’s quite attractive, isn’t it?”

Kylo blushed. “I thought so. I thought it was the pheromones, at first. But I think it just is.”

“Normally I don’t notice.”

“You think I’m attractive.”

“Right,” he said in a flat voice, without turning around. Hux was quiet for a few more moments. “Don’t let it kill me, don’t let it eat any part of me. That’s it.”

Kylo blinked. “Seriously?”

Hux turned to him, face impassive. “Of course. Anything else is fine.”

Kylo huffed. “I’m not going to let it hurt you if I don’t think you can tell it to stop.” His hand came up to Hux’s back, in the spot where he knew there was a savage triangle-shaped scar, the origin of which Hux refused to disclose and Kylo had not yet determined.

Hux shrugged. “As long as it doesn’t kill me, I’ll heal from whatever it wants me to do.”

Kylo shook his head. “I’m not watching that if you don’t have control. That’s my rule. Is that okay?”

Hux nodded, and looked back at the Falleen. “Wake it up, and see if it consents to the conditions. It seems like a real charmer, so it may not.”

“Do you mind if it’s an asshole?”

Hux shrugged. “Not really. It just means we don’t have to try as hard.”

Kylo frowned again, looking the Falleen up and down. “Do you already know what it does sexually?”

Hux shrugged again. “No. I’d rather be surprised. It’s been some time since I’ve had one of those.” He turned back to the bed, considering the Falleen again, color high in his cheeks. He could feel excitement and arousal from Hux, no longer hidden from Kylo. “Wake it up and explain.”

Kylo put his hand out again and flexed his fingers, then paused, running the conversation back through his mind, looking for anything else they needed to talk about. He turned back to Hux, smirking.

“That was so simple. Maybe we should look into working together more often.”

The look of consternation on Hux’s face made the whole trip worth it. Hux crossed his arms again. “I think we work together well, aside from you being difficult. And you’ve obviously done this as a kind gesture, Kylo. Do you really want me to get into how your lack of foresight led me to believe we were both going to be kidnapped by a Falleen crime lord on Coruscant? I would have died of humiliation, if nothing else.”

“I’m just saying. It worked. Or will.”

“I know not to consult you for follow-up after, either.” Hux gestured impatiently. “Before I yield to my better judgment and leave, please.”

Still smirking, Kylo flexed his hand and the Falleen’s eyes flickered open. It blinked at the ceiling, then turned and regarded them with a look of open surprise before it sat up and scowled at Kylo, reaching for another large vessel of water on the table next to the bed.

“A human Force user. I was told you were extinct. The Emperor took care of all of you, and someone else dealing with the remnants now.” It took a sip. “You seem to be that person's ally, actually.”

Kylo scowled at it. “I’m still alive. We’re staying. You’re going to have to agree to a few things.”

“Why should I? Your friend obviously doesn’t want anything to do with my methods. What if I said I’ve never been with a Force user that can influence me? Normally they’re only strong enough to resist my commands. I don’t want to be under your power.”

Kylo shrugged. “Then we’ll leave. But if you don’t want to be under my power, I’ll agree only to use it if I feel threatened.”

“And I have only your word on that?”

Hux spoke up. “We don’t know how your word is outside this room. Similarly, you don’t know what we’re capable of.” Hux gestured to Kylo. “Assume it’s _much_. These things work because we trust each other inside the room, and are seeking mutual pleasure. Is that what you’re doing?”

“Frankly, I don’t care about your pleasure.”

Hux was quiet a moment. “I care about his.” He turned to Kylo. “Do you still want to proceed?”

Kylo only wanted to if Hux did. Kylo frowned. He knew Hux would be pleased with a new experience, with surrendering control to the Falleen. Kylo would enjoy it if Hux did. And he could keep it safe. “Yes,” he answered, with more certainty than he normally would, in front of the Falleen.

The Falleen rolled its eyes, a gesture Kylo had yet to see a non-human do. “Fine. I’ll kick you out if I need to.”

Hux crossed his arms. “I’m the primary partner.” He turned to Kylo. “Right?”

Kylo nodded. “I usually just watch, unless you had any special requests.”

The Falleen stared at him. “I usually meet with a pair for a reason.”

Kylo shrugged. “I can join in, but… uh, Veers is the primary partner. I’ll be watching. You can use the pheromones on him and tell him to do almost anything. You can’t kill him, eat him, or hurt him badly.”

The Falleen’s eyes narrowed again, and a purple tongue shot briefly out of its mouth. “I don’t know how fragile a human is.” It waved its claws in the air. “I’m not gentle.”

Hux spoke up again. “I don’t mind being hurt, but he doesn’t want to see it. You can hurt me, but he’ll stop you if he sees it happening.”

Kylo nodded. The Falleen nodded in return.

“This is more work than I usually put into these. You two are lucky you’re human and I’m curious.”

Kylo narrowed his eyes. “I was told that only Force users deal with Falleen. Have you ever had anyone with just the pheromones before? Isn’t that enough of a novelty?”

The Falleen grinned unpleasantly, its claws digging through the flimsy sheets into the side of the mattress. It opened its mouth to answer, but Hux stepped in, putting his own palm out. “Enough. I don’t want to know.”

Kylo had forgotten that it was one of the few things that made Hux genuinely upset. He was sorry to have brought it up. But Hux didn’t linger. He stood at attention, looking the Falleen in the face. “Accepted. Begin.”

The Falleen considered him with its blue eyes and strange pupils, taking another long drink from the container at the bedside.


	2. Chapter 2

_Three months before…_

 

 

Kylo and the Togruta shared a cig between them, passing it over Hux’s sated, unconscious form in the bed between them. Kylo didn’t typically smoke, but the Togruta had offered, and the sex had been phenomenal. They would likely spend all weekend with her. The cig was also giving Kylo something to do to ground himself, which he badly needed at the moment. He felt like he should break a hole in the wall and run naked through the streets of Vena Cal to rid himself of excess energy.

She was a Force user, and they had ended with Hux sandwiched in the middle, the Force flowing through Hux between them, the thoughts shared that much more intensely in the heat of the moment. Hux had fallen unconscious after his orgasm, though he seemed to be otherwise fine. Kylo envied him the oblivion, as he felt strung taut and wanted to go again immediately.

He sensed the Togruta wasn’t particularly strong in the Force, but was aware of its existence, and could manipulate it to a degree.  _Kylo Ren_  would have execute her. But the “Kylo Ren” of the clubs was increasingly able to set aside the parts of his identity that he used to dwell on, the obsession with whether doing things made him  _Kylo Ren_. Conversely, it made it easier for him to be  _Kylo Ren_  in other parts of his life, to fully immerse himself in the Force, the tasks he completed for the First Order, and how to do both efficiently, without the cumbersome burden of humanity. He could set that aside, and bring it back out for Hux and his other partners.

As he considered asking the Togruta whether she would be amicable to round two without Hux, she sat up on one elbow and spoke first.

“I was told that Kylo Ren had some questions for me, but that I shouldn’t ask about it in front of the General.” She exhaled a cloud of smoke above Hux, her orange eyes meeting Kylo’s. “I always assume these questions are about the Force, but you seem familiar with it. I’d bet that's no secret from the General either, if he’s been to bed with you before.” She gestured to Hux again as she took another drag on the cig. Her Basic was flawless, her accent that of a Republic citizen.

Kylo sat up against the headboard and studied her for a moment, pushing his sweaty hair away from his face and reaching a hand down to massage his abused testicles. Her orange skin was a wonderful sort of  _different_ , fairly glowing in the dim light of the room, standing out in contrast to his and Hux’s pale skin. However, her face was bare, lacking the ubiquitous white tattoos that he had always assumed were a natural part of a Togruta’s skin. He wondered if it marked her as an outcast among her own kind. It was also a little unsettling, where it wouldn’t be on another species.

It took Kylo a moment of staring at her in slack-jawed incomprehension before her statement made sense. He was trying to parse it as an invitation for more sex, but then he finally realized what she was asking for. He’d spoken to Urathine about finding a specific type of partner several months prior, but they hadn’t spoken of it since, and Kylo had forgotten his request.

“I’m told that you engage partners outside the clubs.”

She made a very human expression of distaste. “Yes. You know how it is closer to the center of the Republic. They talk the talk, but they still don’t like  _seeing_  it. And the ones you meet out that way are real winners. Shame eats them alive.”

Kylo looked away for a moment, wondering about that, then put it out of his mind. “I’m told there are certain species that don’t come to the clubs.”

The Togruta pushed herself up against the headboard. It was a heavy motion - Kylo thought she might be older. She had been a very lively partner in bed, but moved with a certain care beforehand, and now. He had once heard that Togruta head-tails grew longer as the Togruta aged. Her head-tails went down nearly to her knees, and were thick and ringed with narrow  _V_ s of indigo and white, along with thick silver bands on her horns. They were the longest he’d ever seen. But Kylo could spot no signs of human aging on her to verify his suspicions.

“Those are the winners I’m talking about. Sure, there’s species that don’t come to the clubs. Too full of themselves. They look me up when I’m in town. You don’t want to mess with them.”

Perhaps she was a sex worker. They weren’t allowed to charge for their services here, although they could advertise if they wished. If she was a professional, that would explain the great sex.

She offered the cig, and Kylo took it from between her thick fingers, ashing it onto the floor next to the bed before inhaling.

“It’s for him.” Kylo looked down, letting his free hand rest on Hux’s head. His fingers twined slightly into his hair, which was still stiff with product and slimy close to his scalp, where his sweat had begun to undo it. “I want to try something new with him. A new species. But I think he’s had anything that’s walked through the doors of the clubs. I want to find someone that wouldn’t come here.”

She pursed full and dark purple lips, eyes downcast, white eyelashes contrasting against the orange fullness of her cheeks. Kylo noticed she wasn’t sweating, though she had drooled copiously during sex. He and Hux had taken turns licking it from her gasping mouth.

“I’ve heard of him. You might have trouble with that, based on the rumors. But… you aren’t wrong. He’d know how to be safe, and there would be certain species he wouldn’t touch.” She looked up at Kylo, considering him carefully. “Well. How about this. There’s a few partners I have that have a very narrow list of beings they call. Most species can’t, or won’t, handle them, which makes this-” she gestured to the bed, “very difficult. But I can. And I think you can too.”

Kylo caught the implication, but was confused. “They only fuck Force users?”

She smirked. “More like nobody but Force users will go near them willingly.” She took the cig back from Kylo, and stared across at a dark wall. “Hard to come by, you know? And a lot of us don’t like to show it.” Her big eyes focused on him. “Your namesake’s after them, they say. Clever of you to wear that into the club. Most people wouldn’t suspect.”

Kylo tensed, thinking for a moment that she had guessed who he was. Then he relaxed and gave a nervous laugh, shifting on his sore thighs and rubbing at a drop of sweat rolling down his back.

“What better disguise for one of us than Kylo Ren, right?”

Her eyes crinkled. “Darth Vader would have been funnier.”

Kylo kept his face straight, but the thought of having sex while dressed as his grandfather was supremely unappealing. Darth Vader wasn’t a popular costume choice, and they had yet to go to bed with someone dressed that way, thankfully.

“So, there are beings looking for Force-sensitive partners?”

She made a small noise of assent. “And in my experience, they aren’t Kylo Ren waiting to trap you.”

That was insulting, and months ago, he might have executed her on principle, rules of the club or no. But he had more patience now, so he gave another nervous laugh, willing himself to ignore it. She continued.

“Hmm… Force users, and at least one of them has partners that simply can’t breathe oxygen. The masks stay on.”

“What are they?”

She looked across, meeting Kylo’s eyes again, the low light from the bedside lamp glinting on the silver jewelry of her horns. “Falleen.”

Kylo tilted his head. He knew them. That was the species in charge of the Black Sun syndicate. Leia had often disparaged them. He didn’t know what they looked like. But he smiled as the implication clicked.

“The mind-control. Force users can’t be controlled by them.”

The Togruta gestured with the cig and winked. “Exactly. Nobody else would be stupid enough to go to one willingly, especially anonymously.”

Kylo shook his head, annoyed. “They can’t all be crime lords.”

The Togruta looked back at the wall, taking another draw on the cig. “The Falleen homeworld isn’t there anymore. It disappeared about twenty years ago. And they were xenophobic enough that Black Sun was the only offworld operation they engaged in.”

“Disappeared?”

She made a hand gesture, not looking at him. “Poof. Nobody knows what happened.”

He thought of Leia’s story, never told to him but watched in a holo, of witnessing Alderaan’s destruction. He thought of the Bith that had been exterminated, and the weapon they were working on now. But he didn’t say anything aloud to the Togruta.

“You’re telling me that, what, the only Falleen that exist now are the aging crime lords that were running Black Sun?”

She glanced at him, her uncanny orange eyes lighting with some mirth. “I believe Black Sun was eliminated around the same time. I suspect they made an enemy of the Emperor.” Which was Kylo’s own unspoken conclusion.

She drew on the cig again, then handed it to him as she exhaled into the empty room. “So the ones that survived were clever enough to not be there when whatever happened to Black Sun happened. But they can reproduce. From what I can tell, the younger generation is just as self-important, just as dirty, and much more paranoid than the Falleen pre-extermination. They’re difficult to deal with.”

He drew on the cig, making a decision and letting his mind wander from the topic. “I don’t mind the personality, and I can handle the mind control part. He’s somewhat paranoid himself,” Kylo’s fingers tightened slightly in Hux’s hair, “so I doubt he’s been with a Falleen. Sounds good.”

The Togruta clicked one of her long orange nails against her teeth. “One more thing. They all do the pheromone thing. Some of them are really into giving up that control, and won’t use it. And some of them are still pretty pushy in bed, even with their pheromones neutralized. I don’t mind, but the latter is probably going to be the ones most interested in humans. Which do you want?”

Kylo looked down at Hux, his hand stroking his sweaty, slimy hair. He worked his thumb into the tense muscles at the base of his neck, and Hux twitched in his sleep.

Hux tended to know more about each of his partners than they seemed to know about humans, so he usually drove their encounters, or at least confidently let his partner take what they needed. The few times he’d seen Hux, so controlled and confident, submit to a more dominant partner that took him apart had been… transcendent. Kylo felt something in his chest twist and pull, and he moved his thumb along Hux’s ear, fighting the temptation to use the Force to wake him as he shifted to accommodate an erection he’d been attempting to fight down.

Then Kylo frowned. Hux didn’t seem to like it when Kylo tried and it was just the two of them. So maybe not.

Then he slowly realized that, no, it was just Kylo he didn’t enjoy that with, for some reason. Kylo slowly went over their other partners in his memory, and there was not a single other instance of Hux taking back control, once his partner took over. Except for Kylo.

“The dominant one,” he answered, fingers tightening in Hux’s hair and deciding to ask Hux about that the next time it happened. Kylo glanced up at her, her full lips and round cheeks and tattoo-less blank orange face.  Her orange eyes looked small, with the head-tails and lack of tattoos. “One who will let me watch.”

She smiled, and it was a dangerous thing. He felt her arousal coil around his own as her eyes dropped to his erection, tenting the sheet. “I know just the one.”

He pitched the cig over the side of the bed and crawled over to her, straddling her generous hips and sitting back on her thighs, his own slick with sweat and lube and fluids. Physically, she was intimidating. Shorter than Hux or himself, but big, and with a force of personality that made her seem even  _more._  He thumbed one of her red nipples, small when contrasted to her breasts, and smiled up at her. She smirked back.

“I thought you didn’t like it without him.”

Kylo shrugged. “Sometimes. You’re an exception.”

“I get that a lot.”

She sat up, pushing Kylo back in her lap, gripping his biceps and snagging the tender skin along the side of his ribcage with her long nails. He moved his hands up to her head-tails, and her arousal through the Force hit him like a freighter. It was incredible, and he watched his hands flex on her wide head-tails, his pale skin atop the indigo-and-white bands.

She leaned forward to kiss him, and Kylo lost himself.

 

 

  
***

 

 

 “Kneel,” the Falleen ordered, taking another long drink from the large vessel.

Turning redder, Hux did so, head down, action graceful, but this degree of subservience seemed somehow wrong in his general’s uniform. Kylo could feel his excitement spike, far harder than it normally did beforehand. He stepped back to observe, feeling his cock getting hard already with the simple act of direct submission.

The Falleen smirked. “Take off the hat.”

Hux obeyed, resting back on his heels to set the hat on his lap and fold his hands neatly in front of it. He looked back up at the Falleen with pure adoration, and Kylo felt an uncanny spike of jealousy before he thought to take his gloves off and undo the front of his pants as a distraction.

The Falleen’s scales were turning more green, still jewel-like, as it opened the front of its robe, pushing a long-nailed hand into its lower abdomen and massaging slightly.  He adjusted the belt to leave the tails of the robe behind him, draping down the backs of his legs like a cape.

“Such a pretty boy. Let’s get started.”

“Hold it,” Kylo interrupted, dick in hand, still not feeling quite right about the situation. “What are you going to do to him?”

“Why? He doesn’t care.”

“I don’t,” Hux interjected testily. Kylo wondered how much of the answer was due to the Falleen’s pheromones and how much was his natural annoyance. Still. His eyes shifted back to the Falleen.

“Tell me what you’re doing before you do it.”

“That wasn’t part of the deal.”

Kylo put his free palm out as a show, wondering if the intimidation was lessened any by the fact he was holding himself with the other hand. “You’ll do it anyway, or we’ll walk out.” He squeezed his fingers together, regretfully putting a temporary blankness in Hux’s mind. He hated doing it, but he also didn’t want Hux telling him this was unnecessary. It was. Kylo was less hesitant to upset this partner than he normally would be. It felt more comfortable to exert control. There was no embarrassment. He felt Hux was right about the Falleen. This one would take advantage if it could.

The Falleen considered him, looking down at Hux’s blank stare, registering somewhere mid-thigh. “You’d even do it to him.”

“Of course. I’m unsentimental like that.”

“You’re something.”

“Speak for yourself. What are you about to do? Just tell me, and you can continue.” He crushed some annoyance as he brought Hux back out of it. “It helps me get off if I know what you’re doing to him.”

The Falleen looked back down at Hux, who glanced with annoyance at Kylo, then back up at the Falleen adoringly.

“Fine. I have to flush my body before I start. When I’m coupling with sub-Lamproid scum like you, I like to put them in their place and allow them the privilege of my fluids before we begin.”

Kylo grit his teeth to keep the expression off his face, but this was more than fine, even with the apparent insult about Lamproids that Kylo didn’t understand. Both he and Hux enjoyed excessive fluids immensely. Kylo preferred particularly wet partners to mess his face, especially when their fluid was very hot. It burned his skin, running down in scalding rivulets from the tips of his hair, and depending on the species, sometimes tasted good. Zygerrians didn’t process sugars, and also needed to flush their bodies before sex.

The Falleen was tall enough to straddle Hux as he knelt, and Kylo stepped behind Hux to get a better view of the Falleen wetting Hux from between its legs. The Falleen's thighs blocked his view from the side, though he would have liked to watch Hux’s face. From behind Hux, he was annoyed to find that the Falleen’s thighs were still thick enough, and its genitalia small enough, to be obscured from this angle as well.

He watched as the flow of fluid started slow, falling from the Falleen in several streams. Interesting. The first few drops ran off the product in Hux’s hair and spattered his shoulders, collar, and the back of his uniform. There were dark spots that spread as the fabric absorbed the wetness. Gradually, the flow increased from a trickle to a flood of many thin streams of clear fluid. The Falleen soaked Hux’s hair and penetrated the product, the strands turning darker and sticking to the sides of his face and neck. The fluid ran behind and in front of his ears, over his collar, onto his shoulders. Kylo watched a large black stain form all over the uniform, running down his back and biceps, stopping at his belt.

There was a slight floral scent that Kylo didn’t like, but it wasn’t overpowering. He wrinkled his nose and glanced up at the Falleen, which had an intent look on its chiseled features, its hairless brow knit in concentration, strange eyes narrowed down at Hux. Its scales were growing darker in color, and still glittered prettily in the low light of the room.

Looking back to Hux’s uniform, Kylo suddenly remembered that he hadn’t made arrangements after the encounter. They’d have to book a room, or more likely just break into an empty one. There were no fresh clothes, and he knew Hux wouldn’t like walking through Coruscant in a messy, come-and-piss-stained uniform the way he did through the streets of Vena Cal.

He glanced up at the Falleen’s face as it continued to piss on Hux. There was a lot, and Hux’s tunic was nearly soaked through. The overpowering floral scent filled the room, purfume-y, similar to Yorra lilacs. Hux wasn’t moving, likely because the Falleen hadn’t told him to do so. The Falleen’s face had turned dark as it continued, both spiteful and angry. Kylo wasn’t sure what he thought about that, but reached for the lube in his pocket, willing it to continue

The Falleen finally stopped, shaking the last few drops onto Hux’s face. Kylo regretted not being able to see it. The Falleen took a step back to look at the mess it had made of Hux, the dark look mellowing back into intensity. “How do you like that, pretty boy?”

“More. Next.” Kylo could hear the slight strain in his voice. Hux was leaning slightly forward, and laid his palms against the floor. His hat had slid off his lap and into a puddle of the Falleen’s fluids. The brim of the hat was damp.

Kylo caught a glimpse of the Falleen’s genitals as it stepped back. It had a light purple anemone-like patch of thin, short feelers between its thighs. They ranged from stubs to the length of a finger, each with a dimple on the end, the whole patch creeping back between the Falleen’s trunk-like thigh muscles. They twitched, some grouped together, others erratically.

It was beautiful. Kylo stared, teasing the head of his own cock.

“Does scum like you even know what to do with my  _opala_?”

Hux shook his head, droplets falling off the wet strands of his hair. Kylo ached to see his face, and shifted his position, standing closer, so he could see Hux and the Falleen in profile.

The Falleen snorted, looking angrier. “I don’t know why I waste my time with you. Tongue! Your tongue! Do you know what that is?”

Hux nodded. “May I use my tongue on…” he nodded, transfixed, at the patch of Falleen genitals. “On that?”

There was a  _crack_  as the Falleen slapped Hux across the cheek. It darted a glance toward Kylo, then away, as if belatedly remembering their agreement. This wasn’t really what Kylo had been trying to guard against, however. Kylo tensed, squeezing his cock harder. Hux enjoyed being slapped, and Kylo liked how dominant the Falleen was. Partners rarely pushed Hux around like this, and he knew Hux loved it. Color rose to the cheek that Kylo could see, on the side that hadn’t been slapped, and Hux shifted, the beginnings of an erection tenting the front of his pants. Hux was fine.

“You’re stupider than I thought. You heard what it was called. Or are you deaf?”

Hux shook his head, looking reverently at the patch of genitals. “Opala.”

The Falleen grabbed his chin, yanking his face up. “I will say it one more time, and you will pronounce it correctly.  _Opala_.”

“ _Opala_ ,” Hux tried, mimicking the pronunciation, lengthening the  _a_  at the end. He was looking reverently up at the Falleen, and his tongue darted out to lick his lips.

The Falleen made a disgusted noise, and released his chin. “Do it.”  He looked over to Kylo and sneered.  "Do I need to draw you a diagram for that, too?"

Kylo made a grunt of annoyance, his hand pausing where he was pleasuring himself slowly.  "Tell me if it isn't obvious."

The Falleen looked back down at Hux.  "This one is stupider than I thought," he looked back up to Kylo.  "So I assume you are, too.  How do I know what's obvious to such simple minds?"

Kylo gestured sharply.  "Continue.  I'll stop you if I don't like what I see.  I'm sure you get that by now."

The Falleen gave him a murderous look, but rather than responding, he looked back down to Hux, his expression growing once again intent.  As if on cue, Hux crawled forward and wrapped his gloved hands around the Falleen’s thighs. He closed his eyes, and Kylo watched his wet, copper eyelashes twitch against his cheek as he brought his lips closer to the Falleen’s genitals, mouth open slightly, the tip of his tongue out for just a taste.

He touched the tip of one of the protrusions hesitantly, then gently thrust his tongue in among the rest. The short protrusions twitched away from the contact, and Hux’s brow furrowed. He chased them delicately with his tongue, eyes still closed. Caressing them required more work than it first seemed, as Hux had to bob his head as the protrusions twitched away from him. Beads of green moisture appeared at the tips, and they began smearing onto Hux’s lips and chin. A different sort of floral scent wafted over, and Kylo stroked himself, watching the thin liquid smear across Hux’s pale skin and pink lips. It looked viscous, thin strings connecting the genitals to Hux’s face.

Unexpectedly, the Falleen put one of its massive hands to the back of Hux’s head, holding him in place, and the genitals began twitching toward Hux. Kylo watched, fascinated, as they began working their way between his lips, probing the spaces between teeth, writhing up his nose, painting the green fluid across Hux’s eyelids and onto those pale lashes.

Hux moaned, muffled by the genitals, leaning into the Falleen, his hands going limp and sliding down its thighs. The Falleen arched forward, grinding itself on Hux’s face.

It was too much. With a whimper, Kylo finished, coming into his palm to the sight of the small lavender protuberances all over Hux’s face.

At the sound, the Falleen looked back over, annoyance flashing across its features. “By all means. Any time you’re ready.”

Kylo blinked as it pulled away from Hux’s face, Hux making a displeased noise at the loss of contact. It was that, more than the Falleen’s barked order, that made Kylo step forward.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Get naked.”

At the command, Hux stood, stripping his wet uniform off faster than Kylo had ever seen him. Kylo scowled, looking between Hux and the Falleen as he peeled off his own at a much slower, more leisurely pace, challenging it to say something.

The Falleen looked back to Hux, annoyed. “At least you know how to follow orders. On the floor. On your back.”

Hux laid back down, posture stiff, arms and legs straight down to his sides. Kylo slowly took his boots off, watching.

“What do you do to pleasure yourself? I don’t know humans that well.”

“Fingers up my ass,” Hux responded, in a slightly thick voice. Kylo’s eyebrows rose. Kylo still didn't do that himself, and found it interesting that it was Hux's go-to answer for masturbation.  Did he not touch himself too, when he was alone?

The Falleen shook its head. “How prosaic. Show me.”

Hux did, pulling one leg up and using his other hand to reach down and delicately begin probing his rim.  His other leg rolled to the side, bent at the knee, giving both Kylo and the Falleen a full view of what he was doing.

Kylo had the rest of his uniform off, his eyes on Hux as he began. “I need to help him get started. He needs lube.”

The Falleen frowned. “Lube? Is human sex too dry?”

Kylo opened his mouth to explain, then shut it again. He simply rolled his eyes, then grabbed the bottle from his tunic, taking the steps to kneel next to Hux.

Hux looked at him, a desperate kind of fever in his eyes, and Kylo wondered again how much of that was the Falleen pheromones. He dared not check, slightly worried that whatever power had a grip on Hux's mind would spill into his own if he spied on Hux's pleasure right now. Hux was wanting,  _needing_ , something, though Kylo wasn’t sure what. He did want to see what else the Falleen could do, but he also felt an overwhelming urge to be whatever it is that Hux needed so desperately in the moment. He wanted into Hux's mind, to share with him, but he also needed to be present in himself and make sure they stayed safe from the Falleen.  Still, he could do something simple.

Wordlessly, his eyes never leaving Hux’s, he coated his own fingers in lube, and took his time, skating one down the length of Hux’s erection as it laid against his belly. It twitched and leaked under the attention. He dragged the wet digit teasingly over the seam of Hux’s balls, then over his perineum, then caressed the rim himself, feeling it twitch under the attention. Hux thrust his hips forward and pushed himself onto Kylo’s finger, and Kylo took pity on him, pushing in deeper and massaging his prostate, watching his eyes close and Hux’s blush deepen, a noise escape his lips as Kylo pulled back out and began slicking his rim.

Kylo still hadn’t done this often - only one other time to Hux, as Hux coached him. Hux preferred to do it himself, and oddly, it occurred to Kylo he must truly prefer to masturbate this way. But he’d watch Hux prepare himself numerous times, as well as the many other species that had done it for him. He knew the mechanics behind it now, and also knew it was difficult to hurt Hux. So he massaged and probed confidently, and Hux responded, his muscles relaxing and the tightness giving way as Kylo slowly pushed his fingers in and out.

He leaned down and nipped at Hux’s erection, teasing the head with his lips as he began pumping faster, circling and teasing the rim and soon adding a second finger. He moved his mouth down lower, tonguing Hux’s balls and pulling on one side with his mouth, sucking and nibbling at the skin. A hand found Kylo’s hair, still in braids, and Hux made a frustrated noise as his fingers found no purchase, used to burying themselves in his damp curls. Kylo closed his eyes and made a sound of disappointment himself, letting his knuckles graze once again across Hux’s prostate, making Hux buck and writhe under the attention.

“I said masturbate. I did not want a demonstration of human sex.”

Hux pulled away from Kylo’s hand fast, sitting and looking back up at the Falleen from his position on the floor. Kylo sat back on his heels, frowning first at Hux, then back up at the Falleen. He huffed.

“Fine.” He crawled forward and slicked the hand that Hux had been masturbating with, handling it gently, disconcerted by the way Hux’s gaze didn’t break from the Falleen. He stood when he was done, and Hux resumed, laying back down and holding a leg in one hand and masturbating with the other, a series of squelching sounds the only testament to how vigorous his attentions were.

Kylo sighed, watching the intent way the Falleen watched Hux, eating him up with its gaze. “Is there a reason you wanted me naked and over here, or did you just want to see if I’d do what you asked?”

The Falleen turned and its expression went from a scowl to considering. A thin film of dampness had gathered on its now very dark green skin, and the low light of the room caught in the ridges of its skull. It shrugged out of the luxurious robe, letting it pool in a silken puddle around its clawed feet. “Climb my back. I’ll hold you up.”

Kylo consented, as he could easily kill the Falleen from behind and the Falleen could do nothing to stop him. He hoisted himself up, wrapping his legs around the Falleen’s waist, and the Falleen’s arms hooked under his knees, as promised. Kylo steadied himself on its shoulders. The spines running down its bare back were softer than they appeared - they looked like black bone, but weren’t, and gave somewhat under Kylo’s skin. They felt cool and cartilaginous against his stomach and chest, and Kylo felt dewy moisture seeping from the Falleen’s scales around them.

“On the lower part of my skull, just below my hair, is my  _mapala_. Do you see it?”

Kylo brushed his palm against the bare, slick, rough-textured skin on the back of the Falleen’s head. The floral smell was almost unbearable this close, and he wrinkled his nose again. His fingers found a different texture from the firm skin stretched across the ridged skull, and when he brushed the ponytail aside, he found the skin was significantly lighter underneath. He probed the soft, light patch experimentally with his finger, and the same green, viscous fluid began running copiously from it.

“There. Touch it. Use your fingers, as you did to the other human just now.”

Kylo rubbed a thumb against it. The spot was spongy, and it gave under the pressure, his thumb sliding inside in a way he didn’t quite understand, almost as if the spot was made of the fluid. It pulsed and squirted, and the fluid ran down the thick cords of the Falleen’s neck and further to its back, seeping between its skin and Kylo’s body.

The Falleen made a low trilling noise, sharp and inhuman. “Yes.” It took two heavy steps forward, and Kylo looked over its shoulder, down at Hux, who still had one leg up and was looking adoringly up at the Falleen. The Falleen tightened its grip on Kylo’s thighs.

As Kylo watched, fluid began running once again from the many protuberances of its genitals, in thick streams onto Hux’s chest and belly, staining his pristine white skin with green. Kylo began applying more pressure to the spot on the back of the Falleen’s skull, and it made the trilling noise again, more fluid running out. When it didn’t suggest anything else, Kylo added another finger, deciding to treat it the same as he would Hux’s hole.

The Falleen dropped abruptly to its knees over Hux’s waist, jarring Kylo sharply before releasing its grip on Kylo’s thighs. It skin was slick enough that Kylo had to use both his arms to hold himself up by the Falleen's shoulders and keep from falling onto Hux’s shins. He scrabbled a moment to get his knees below him.

Annoyingly, the Falleen was too tall for Kylo to see over its shoulder from this position, so he bent low, wrapped an arm around its waist.  He began working his mouth against its bicep and its ribs, so he could see Hux between its arm and side. He continued to reach up and probe the hole on the back of its head with two fingers, increasing the speed. The sharp trill was almost constant now.

It grabbed Hux with both its shining green arms, the muscles rippling below its skin, and pulled him forward easily. It positioned him underneath it so that its genitals lined up with Hux’s leaking, untended erection. The gummy mess of fluid began leaking onto Hux's cock and into his pubic hair. It growled, yanking both of Hux’s arms above his head and pinning him there with one of its massive, clawed hands.

“You’ve had enough. My turn.”

It bent low, and Kylo slid further down its slick back, positioning his own erection between its thighs from behind. He felt a tickling sensation, and realized it was the genitals, reaching up and tentatively caressing Kylo’s dick, smearing that fluid all over. Kylo shuddered and closed his eyes momentarily, overcome with the arousal that burned across his skin and collected in his tight balls and throbbing dick.

The sensation from the Falleen’s genitals was electric, and Kylo cried out and pulled back, pulses of pleasure wracking his body, and he was proud of himself when he didn’t come all over the Falleen’s back. He repositioned himself, pushing his erection back between the Falleen’s thighs and centering himself behind its broad back.

The position was awkward, and because of its size he could still only glimpse what the Falleen was doing with Hux. He could see it was still bent low with its back arched high, and when it twisted its head, its long hair falling over its shoulder, he saw it caressing Hux’s face with flicks of its black tongue. It also seemed to be using a hand to trace patterns along Hux’s chest, occasionally drawing blood with a curved black nail.

Kylo shifted again to center himself behind the Falleen, wrapping his free arm around its broad, firm waist (his arm wasn’t long enough to reach even halfway around - still annoying), and he used a third finger on the hole in the back of the Falleen’s head. The trilling sound grew louder, and the fluid coursed down the sides of its head and into its hair, over its ears, puddling on the floor around Hux.

Kylo began rutting into the Falleen’s ass from behind, feeling the electric touch of the genitals against his erection. It was fantastic, and Kylo knew he wouldn’t last long.  It was all he could do to hold himself back from diving into both Hux's and the Falleen's mind to experience their pleasure.  But not only would that likely lead to a very early orgasm for all concerned, Kylo still didn't want to lose himself to the Falleen in that way. It was too dangerous.

The Falleen was stationary, rigid, and its muscles were rock-hard against Kylo. Its skin was slick and dark green scales glittered in the low light amid the fluid Kylo watched run in thin streams all over the thick musculature of its back. He could hear Hux gasping and writhing hard against the floor, but could only see his hands flexing in the grip of the large Falleen hand, visible just above its bent head.

Kylo wondered idly what the Falleen could be doing to Hux when he felt Hux flex forward and the tip of his dick hit Kylo’s, in between the Falleen's thighs. He was fucking the Falleen, and the Falleen was sitting still and using its genitals on Hux’s dick, apparently more intensely than the attention it was giving Kylo. Kylo was impressed that Hux could hold out as long as he had, even knowing Hux as well as he did. He wondered if perhaps the Falleen pheromones were again responsible. Could the Falleen use them to deny Hux an orgasm? That would be interesting. The sensation from the Falleen’s genitals felt fantastic, better than any alien tongue or soft moist skin that Kylo had yet felt for himself, and he marveled at Hux feeling the full force of it.

Because the Falleen was managing to please Hux almost to the point of torture, more than Kylo had ever seen, Kylo decided to do it an experimental favor. He pulled out from between its thighs, climbing up its back and stretching his neck to press his lips around the hole on the back of its head, probing with his tongue. He had to fight not to jerk back immediately and gag. The fluid was incredibly bitter, and his eyes watered as he closed them and fought his disgust. He tried to focus instead on Hux. He was still worried of being overcome by the Falleen in a moment of weakness, but he needed the distraction of Hux’s pleasure now, praying that he came soon so he wouldn’t have to taste it for long.

But he didn't have a chance to try. At the touch of Kylo's tongue, the Falleen gave a powerful full body shudder and sat up, releasing Hux. Kylo got a face full of whatever fluid came from the back of its neck, and Hux came, Kylo feeling the pulse of it against his mind. He came in response, between his stomach and the Falleen's back, losing his grip and sliding down the Falleen to rest his ass against Hux’s knees and his own thighs.  He left his arms wrapped loosely around the Falleen's waist as he blinked and collected himself, desperate to keep himself together in front of the Falleen.

He gasped for breath, slimy, and he had the presence of mind to sit up and pull Hux across the floor, out from under the Falleen. He was wild, his eyes darting and unfocused and his chest heaving. The Falleen had used its claw to scratch the same pattern into Hux’s skin, over and over again, thin beads of blood embellishing the letters and now smeared and mixed with the green Falleen fluid. The scratches looked like writing, but none that Kylo recognized. Hux was flushed, covered in fluid, his hair was wild, and his fingers were twitching at his sides, his thighs quivering. It resembled a mild seizure, and had Kylo worried. When Kylo tried to push into his mind, it was scrambled, a thousand thoughts of the Falleen running rampant, with nothing of Hux underneath. This, more than anything else, Kylo found alarming.

Kylo put a hand to his forehead, dispelling the hold that the Falleen had on him. He put his lips to Hux’s ear. “You okay?”

Hux stilled under his hand, and Kylo felt his emotions stabilize, come back under control. They steadied, and eventually tapered into a low pulse of satiation, pleasure, fondness. Hux thought of Kylo (Ben, then Kylo), and turned to face him.

“Fine,” he replied tersely, and it seemed as though he was too overcome to answer any further. Kylo let his palm slide through the mess of Hux’s hair, and he closed his eyes, satisfied that Hux was whole and healthy.

They shot open again when the Falleen spoke behind them. “You can leave now.”

Kylo turned, giving it an annoyed look as it picked up its robe from the floor. It watched Kylo from the slits of its violet eyes. It skin was starting to lighten, going from green back to pale gray-violet.

“What? It’s my room. Get out.”

Kylo sighed, running a hand over his braids, growing annoyed himself that he couldn’t run his fingers through his hair. He looked down at Hux, who appeared equally annoyed, but also sat up, looking around the room.

“The worst part about you is that you don’t follow the most important order. While I’m young, please.”

Kylo rolled his eyes and crawled to where the heap of his uniform was. He pulled on his underwear, and then his pants, and then slowly pulled on his boots. Hux was distastefully pulling on the damp pieces of his uniform. He looked over at Kylo, face blank.

“Could you, please?”

Kylo wasn’t sure what he meant, but in response, he put a palm out toward the Falleen, who crumpled heavily to the floor.

Hux sighed, sitting back and pulling on his own boots over his pants. “Thank you. How long will it be out?”

“I don’t care,” Kylo answered honestly, pulling his undershirt on over his head. Hux struggled with getting his wet shirt on over the wreck of his hair and his damp chest and arms. It kept bunching around his shoulderblades, so Kylo went over and tugged it down for him.

“We can trade uniforms, if you want.”

Hux gave him a Look. Kylo would love to see him in it, large and baggy, making him look small despite his height.

“I would rather walk around in a piss-soaked uniform.” He sniffed delicately at his tunic before pulling it around his back and zipping up the front. “But at least it smells cleaner.”

Kylo shrugged, pulling on his cap over the damp mess of his braids. “Sure.”

Hux turned to him as he pulled his own cap on over the wreck of his hair, not bothering to straighten it. “Did you have a bag sent up to our room?”

Kylo glanced out the door. He was too tired to explain right now, and decided to hide the mistake under fatigue.

“I can’t remember where our room is, and I’m too tired. I’m just going to break into one on this floor. Is that okay with you?”

Hux shrugged one shoulder, glancing distractedly at the door. “Fine.”

They left the Falleen crumpled on the floor in puddles of its own fluids, robe pulled over one arm and fanned out around it, the overwhelming floral scent following them out into the hallway.

“Kylo,” Hux spoke as they went down the dim, dingy hallway with the worn-out carpet.

Kylo was distracted, scanning the rooms, annoyed that the hotel was more heavily populated than he thought. But there were still empty rooms on this floor. “Yes?”

Hux stared straight ahead, his tone terse. “That was a nice surprise. Thank you for arranging it. All of it.”

Kylo stared forward, feeling his face heat, abruptly forgetting about the search for an empty room. He couldn’t think of what to say in response, so he said nothing, pretending he was leading Hux to the room he had thoughtfully rented ahead of time.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: [@vadianna](http://vadianna.tumblr.com)


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